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![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) awe_some_ness |
| 2008-05-14 16:18 |
| I am so damned fucking frustrated. |
| Public |
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The shift key on this laptop is too fucking small and most of the time I end up hitting / instead of it.
I feel that just as I am starting to enjoy college and my friends at college I am getting ready to leave...and no matter how much I want to stay in contact and they say they will it's just not that easy. That's what it was like at my old school..yr 11 everyone was like 'Oh yeah, keep in touch, we'll be friends for years to come' well it's been 2 years since I saw any of them. I don't want to be like that this year, the past 6months I have had the best friends ever, and I don't want to not see them.
I feel like there is nothing to look forward to....which is stupid seeing as in just over a week I'm off to see LOTR the musical, and it's the holidays, but all anything ever seems to be about nowadays is work, problems with work, revision, exams and uni.
I'm hungry as hell....weigh-in at weightwatchers in an hour so no eating til then.
I'm also frustrated with AIM Mail, which is the focus of most of my attitude right now as it is blatantly refusing to work for me at all. It's telling me that I have two emails, it's also letting me see that they are replies to comments on LJ, it won't however open them and show me who and where these replies are.
I'm utterly frustrated and irritated with the end of my book [Eclipse - Stephanie Meyers] And the next book had better damned well carry on with Bella and not go to Jacob's P.o.V.
And to think that all this frustration stemmed from the fact that I am so depressed that I have finished my books. The twilight series was amazing. You ever get that with books you love so much, and you finish them and you feel that there aren't any books you want to read except those ones? Or is it just me in my weird obsessiveness? I'm rereading them. Started the first one again a minute ago. Mainly to go over them again a bit slower, but also to take up a bit more of my time with the Cullens XD I was so annoyed and sad, and annoyed that the next one isn't out until the 2nd August (Which is pretty close, but not enough.)
Ugh....I'm odd.
:[
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| returntoromance |
| 2008-05-11 18:48 |
| 1270 miles completed, 20 miles left |
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Before completing my visit to Florence I managed to undertake one of the nicest walks I have had so far. On May 1st I had walked along both sides of the river and noticed a church or similar looking building up in the hills above the city and decided that I would investigate further.
The building was indeed a church, called San Miniato al Monte and between it and the city was the Piazza Michelangelo. There are two routes that you can follow once you have crossed the river, one involves climbing over a hundred steps which enables you stop at three stages to take in the views and the other is the longer route which follows the road that winds around the hill. I took the longer route on the way out and decided that before visiting the church I would carry on for a few miles and take in the countryside and escape the tourists. Eventually it was time to start the walk back towards the city and arriving at the church was amazed at the number people waiting to go in.
The church has several works of art dating from the 12th century. The main door is known as the holy door because it is reputed that the bodies of Christian martyrs were found there. This is another famous building and is worth a visit if ever you go to Florence because the artwork above the uppermost altar is impressive.
In front of the church is the monumental cemetery known as the Porte Sante where many famous people are buried including Carlo Lorenzini who under the pseudonym of Carlo Collodi wrote Pinocchio.
Beside the church is another cemetery which contains one of the most visually moving memorials I have come across. It is the grave of a young couple who died a year apart in the mid 1940’s, neither was more than 30yrs old at the time of their death and even after nearly 70 yrs the white marble that covers their grave looks brand new. On top of the grave are two life sized figures in wedding attire and again it is gleaming white.
Leaving the church I decided to follow the steps down to the Piazza Michelangelo by which time the area was full of tourist coaches and the usual sellers of sunglasses, camera tripods etc. If you can find a spot near the front of the piazza you are rewarded with a superb panoramic view of the city. Following the steps down to the next level there is a smaller area where you can still have a view across the city before descending the remaining steps to the outskirts of the city and back towards Ponte Vecchio.
Onwards then to Grosseto, a large town surrounded by open country, a welcome change after two weeks in cities. I would not have missed them though because of the opportunities that my daily walks provided in terms of sights.
In the middle of modern Grosseto is the old town surrounded by the original walls. It does not take long to find your way into the countryside and despite the temperatures being in the mid to high 20’s, the scenery and the chance to be in opens pace is worth it.
Towards the end of the week I was joined by Cate and Linda. You may remember that Cate had started the walk with me and accompanied me for the first week. Both Cate and Linda had worked with my late wife and they had decided to join me for the remaining week of the journey to Rome. Although it was difficult at first adjusting to a slower walking pace, it was nice to have some company after being on my own for so long.
The highlight of the visit to Grosseto has to be when Linda who was enjoying a cup of tea in a café saw a lady open her bag from which two long ears poked out followed by the rest of the animal – a rabbit!! It made a change from the normal fashion accessory for the French and Italians – small dogs, who don’t seem to do much walking but do get carried around a lot.
I must say a public thank you to American author Angela Nickerson who contacted me to say that she had come across my website by accident and thought it was a wonderful tribute to my wife. She offered to donate a signed copy of her latest book, 'A Journey into Michelangelo's Rome' for the auction we are holding in July when we have the charity golf day. I readily accepted and a copy is on its way from the States as I write. This was a real boost especially when I thought about the fact that out of the 30+ celebrities I wrote to in the UK before I left, only 3 had bothered to respond and only one had actually been from the person themselves the other 2 were signed photographs from their agents.
Tomorrow it is on to Civitavecchia, the final stop before Rome and if all goes well I will complete the remaining miles and I will also complete a further ten miles to make the total 1300 miles. This will then leave the final five miles that mark the final stage of the walk.
As Rome gets nearer, I am not sure how I will feel when I start the last walk from the hotel where my wife and I stayed 3 years ago to walk to the Vatican or how I will feel when I arrive on the steps of St Peter’s. Although I have said it will be alright, I cannot help but think that it is going to be more emotional then I have been prepared to accept – realism time I guess. A cameraman will be there to capture the moment as well as my eldest son and Anne’s two sisters. Representatives of one of the charities will also be there and the film of my arrival ill be shown on one of the regional TV stations back home, hopefully somebody will record it for me so I can enjoy it.
I will let you know how the day went in the final diary of the walk. In the meantime, I want to thank all of you who have contacted me with messages of support or comments on the diaries (all positive thank goodness) and to those who have sponsored me. I am sure that there are other people out there who may have been waiting for me to complete the walk before donating, well I am in sight of the finishing line so please go online (www.return2romance.co.uk) and follow the “donate now “ link and help me get to that £50,000 for the four charities.
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| thepixy |
| 2008-05-11 09:26 |
| Day off |
| Public |
 chipper |
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When you work for yourself, there can be a tendency to work too many hours. Working all day at home, then doing treatments in the evening, working all week but also teaching all day on saturday, feeling that I should be working at all times, not taking lunchbreaks - these things are not uncommon for me. This of course leads to a day or two of being knackered, and those days are when I achieve nothing. This leads to another run of days where I work all the time because I feel bad for the non productive days.
So I am trying something new - if I work all day, I take the evening off. And if I work Mon - Fri, taking Saturday off. I am revitalised by this new concept!!
So I was uber productive this week, and I took yesterday off. I did not even check my email. I went shopping in bromley with Dave yesterday morning, we had breakfast in a cafe, sat out on the balcony in the sun over some nice greenery. After shopping I drove over to visit my grandparents, in the hire car (since the binmen wrote off Dave's car and mine still needs fixing up) which is a Daewoo Matiz - this car goes about 40 miles an hour, has wheels so tiny it looks like a rollerskate, and generally drives like a little go kart. What a silly car - I actually laughed out loud at several points! Still it is nice to be mobile again. After tea with my nan, I drove to my aunt's for cream soda in the garden. Then off to my parents' place for ice cream in the garden, and cuddles with my dog.
Back home about 8ish, made a yummy dinner of mozarella & pesto escalops, salad and new potatoes, and settled in for a dvd - Hot Fuzz, which I have never seen before and is absolutely hilarious! I actually cried laughing at one point. Brilliant. We also drank a bottle fo champagne. What were we celebrating? Random Saturday off, that's what :) It was a brilliant day, most relaxing one I've had in ages.
Today I have an article to write, and I will probably do some studying too, but I am not working. I love this weekend idea, it's fabulous!
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We have a new kitten.
I named her Skeets.
Booster Gold would be proud.
You can look at Skeets HERE.
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There's one thing that DOES irk me about the proposal stage. It is highly difficult to sink into the work. It's not WRITING, it's writing ABOUT THE WRITING which I don't exactly do well. I mean, don't get me wrong here, I love discussing writing. I enjoy tearing stories and structure apart. I like waxing eloquent regarding the act itself, the mindset involved, the niceties of certain grammatical structures, etc.
What I don't love is taking a book I've already written and breaking it down into paragraph-sized chunks. It's important to provide a book-in-a-gasp format for potential editors, yes, but accurately conveying the idea of a book in a "theme" just rubs me the wrong way at times. What if my theme is "Characters Do Awesome Stuff In A Funny Way Then Save The Day Just In Time"? I don't like having to defend huge plots or subplots only outlined in the barest of terms (a necessary evil in these documents). I don't like being told that I have to do away with entire character arcs or even entire characters, because their presence in the book doesn't appeal to the masses. I also don't like hashing over an outline the way you'd hash over the BOOK ITSELF.
However, with all that noted, it's part of the business. In my day job I don't like listening to certain co-workers constantly gripe or argue. I don't enjoy truly buggy builds. I don't enjoy the words "As Designed". Those words occasionally outright piss me off. BUT... you inhale deeply, find your zen place, and keep on truckin'.
Ditto with the writing bits. Yay, I'm so professional. And any day now I'll have the book contract to prove it. LOL
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Yarr.
Today I received a sort-of promotion, in that I have to wait for the new contract to begin before I may or may not be moved up permanently. It's confusing. I know I'll be working in a more managerial-type capacity, however, with less... er, actual game testing. *shrug*
Furthermore, I turned in two proposals this week for books #1 of two separate series. Tonight I work on the proposal for book #1 of series 3. Tomorrow I will work on the proposal for book# 1 of series 4. I'm starting to like the proposal stage simply for the fact that I've been holding off on submitting many of these due to timeliness issues, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with submitting a proposal.
Yay, proposals.
There is more to say here, mostly involving my feelings as of late, especially in regards to missing Joey's funeral, but I've talked about that openly enough lately. That is going into a private or custom entry.
I am hungry. I just got home and now I eat.
Nom.
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1. Hello to my flist! *waves* Come over and have a chat with me! Like how your day was/is/is going...what you have been up to, what wonderfully amazing pictures you have seen today, what has been bugging you. Come chat to meeee :)
2. I'm having to re-type out my psychology coursework xD I did it in July last year. And about a month ago my teacher gave it back so we could 'refine' it...make changes etc. Well I was procrastinating, I did a little bit...and then the deadline was drawing closer and cloaer, and then today I realised that it's like next tuesday, and so I am running around trying to do it, what makes it more difficult is that I changed my computer since last July and so all traces of my coursework, the assignment bit anyways, has disappeared. So I am re-typing it, in order to make the tiniest changes ever, so I can print it out again xD
3. I have my first exam on Tuesday.....GASP!
4. Things are going stressy in RL recently. I have been mega worried about exams and revision. And also I have been having problems at work, which hopefully will work out in the next week or so, I hope it's not going to be awkward!
5. But despite all this I'm pretty happy today :D. It's coz it's summer. The other day, in psyc, I was sitting there and everyone was blah-ing about how wonderful summer is and how it makes everyone happy, and I was like well I actually don't particularly love summer. I'm definitely a winter baby....DEFINITELY. I wayy prefer the cold weather...would much rather go on holiday somewhere snowy that has fantastic shops than somewhere sweltering with a beach. I used to have uber uber uber awful hayfever and so I think that factored into the fact summer doesn't do much for me. Also because of all my extra 'padding'/'insulation'/'fat' XD I get hot really easily, and I hate being so hot you can barely move. I think of it this way, it's easy to warm yourself up if you're cold, but it's much harder to cool down when your boiling. ANYWAYs. I must admit that today...Summer made me happy XD My hayfever used to start in Feb and end in Oct, and it's only just started this year, and not as bad as it had been in previous years by far *touch wood*, and also...my mummy bought me FLIPFLOPS!! yesterday, and I wore them today, and I love them, and it's amazing how just changing your shoes can make you summery...Wonderful.
6. Classic music moment - *I want canddyyy, I want canddddyyy*. (=
7. Oh oh oh ohhhh! I posted a post in ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) skinsfans of Mitch Hewer [weird as when I start talking about Skins the song changes the MGMT - Time to pretend, which sums up the final episode for me] Nakeedd! And There have been 53 77!!!! comments!! It's an immense amount....The ladies like their naked Mitch I can tell you that XD
8. i don't know why I'm numbering points today, I just felt like it I suppose.
9. Now I'm so close to 10 I feel I HAVE to do 10 points just because I'm obsessive like that XD It will annoy me otherwise. Now I'm definitely not crazy OCD but I do seem to think that my OCD tendencies are more pronounced than other peoples [coz you know everyone has them, but some people have full blown OCD and for some they just are that major, you know those little things that bug you unless you change them] Like...If I'm walking along and I start touching the railings or something, and I miss one, I will have to touch it XD Or at college when we are sitting around the table rubbish on the table ANNOYS me completely, I will end up putting everything...every little bit in the bin. Or if there is like food someone has dropped, like a sauce, on the table I have to wipe it off, or if we are playing cards [Rummy in this case] the pile and the row of cards has to be facing me and if they are upside down I have to change them. And in my hand the cards have to go from low to high.However on bigger things [like my room] I'm not ocd at all. My room is usually a state. Oh another thing is food. Likeee....Raisins, I used to eat raisins but then sometimes they have grit or something in one, I panicked and had to stop eating it and I don't anymore. If I eat fruit..It has to be peeled and cored and devoid of seeds and anything that could be like gritty to chew....so I stay away from fruit......LOL I'm so weird.
10. Yay 10!! Okay....back to work. Byesie Bye. xx ♥
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V-Gift for Charity This month is Mental Health Awareness Month, so the LiveJournal team is offering users a chance to support the Depression and Bipolar Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping improve the lives of those suffering from mood disorders. Proceeds from purchases of the Emerging Sun v-gift during May will be donated to the DBSA, so feel free to buy one. Or, if you really want to rack up some good karma points, get a bunch! And don't forget: Mother's Day is this Sunday. Be a dear and check out the v-gifts shop. Send something that'll make her smile.  L to R: Emerging Sun, #1 Mom, Gift Basket, Chocolates, A Dozen Red RosesBrand-Spanking New, Contest-Winning Themes We know how you salivate over the prospect of new themes, especially when they're designed by users with a unique handle on both form and function.  L to R: Shiny, River at Night, Live and Learn, Vector Drips.( Winners of the HP 'What Do You Have to Say?' Theme Design Contest )Advisory Board Nominations We'd like to remind you that the nomination process for LiveJournal Advisory Board user-representatives has begun. If you think you're fit for the job, now's the time to nominate yourself! After all, you're the only who can do it. In two weeks, on the 22nd, the voting process will begin; we'll remind you about it again here. If you're interested in keeping up with the nominations, watch lj_election_en. We'll post the results and announce the winner by the end of the day on May 30th. The new user-representatives will be seated on June 1st. Further details can also be found in lj_2008.
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Last night I made the decision that I won't be attending the funeral. It was an exceptionally hard one to make. There were many circumstances to consider, many reasons to pour over and wade through, but the ultimate decision was that I wouldn't.
Part of me feels rotten for this decision.
Another part of me is more practical about the whole thing.
And a third part simply feels that I've done all the grieving I can handle over the past five days.
So, as awkward as I feel about the whole thing, I'm staying here. I'll be thinking about Joey and you all on Thursday during the time you will be saying your goodbyes. I'll be saying mine then as well.
I love you all.
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| imjustemm |
| 2008-05-05 17:15 |
| 123 start over! |
| Public |
| My home. |
 contemplative |
| I Try - Macy Gray |
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can you really start over with someone? i've told people to forget what i just said. for example: me: i really like you. boy: what? me: forget i said anything. can that person truly forget that you ever said that? i highly doubt it.
this recently happend to me. i told him to forget that i ever said anything, and i that i wanted things to just be "normal", like before i told him that. he whole-heartedly agreed. but i can still sense some sort of tension between the both of us. who knows if i will ever be "normal".
with all my heart i want to throw my arms around him whenever i see him. maybe someday i'll be able to do exactly that. but for now, i'll wait, and quietly curse to myself for messing everything up. he informs me that i did nothing wrong, but every now and again i want to hit my head off a wall. he tells me that he loves my honesty. yeh, thats great buddy, but i want you to love me as a person. not a platonic love. a real love. like the one i wrote about in my last entry. being able to sit in a room with someone, listening to music. the slow songs. not even having to touch, talk, or even look at each other. just knowing that the other person is there. having the love between us being strong enough to the point where we don't have to communicate at all. i think that's beautiful. thats love.
i just figured something out about myself. i'll never be "normal". so having things being "normal" between is a definite long shot. but i can still i hope i guess.
maybe i'll be his moon woman someday.
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I spent most of the day so far today reading, eating ice cream, and being in my quiet place. I don't get alone time these days - Jake hasn't been going to Clix lately - so I haven't had the personal space to sit still in my own head for awhile.
I am profoundly grateful to all of you for your words of comfort and wisdom. Most of you know by now that my greatest fear in this entire world is that there will be no life after death, that we will just wink out, and that our consciousness won't go on. For the past three days I've had so many different belief systems thrust upon me by well-meaning friends and family that it would be funny in other circumstances. Today is my day for trying to ignore that fear.
In a similar vein, I've reached the point where I can almost be sadly amused by the way most people handle death when it does not directly affect them. Nearly everyone except for those of you here do almost exactly the same thing - they apologize, they give some example of someone who's died in their own lives if they can, they follow with a watered down version of their belief system and an assurance that your loved one's soul has passed to a better place, and (if you are like me and give them bare responses like: "Thank you" or "I appreciate that") then they nervously begin repeating their beliefs using different words.
It's almost as if we, as a people, are trained to offer comfort whether or not we're sure we want to, or even if we're particularly apt at it. And please don't think that I'm making fun of these efforts. On the contrary, I greatly appreciate them; these words, however uncertain, prove that I am somewhat liked, and in some cases, loved. These people honestly want to ease my pain. But it makes me glad of LJ and the simple, uncompromising sentences we must speak to one another. If you care about me then you left comfort in a sentence or two, and that comfort doesn't vanish into memory the moment I hear it. It stays here, where I've been able to come back and read it over and over again this weekend. Furthermore, there is not an immediate response from me so there's no uncertainty or need to further explain or any of the usual careful defensiveness in these conversations. It's simple. You tell me that you're sorry for my loss and that I'm I'm loved, that Joey was a good man, and we share a moment.
(In case you can't tell, my quiet place is exceptionally self-reflective.)
Tomorrow I'm going to return to work. I probably could have today, but I wanted this alone time to think, to process, to be. Sometimes it's fantastically hard to simply "be" here. I don't know if I'm going to be able to make it to the funeral. I may or may not, but it won't be Joey in that box or urn, it will be my memory of him and I'd almost rather think of him as I saw him last, standing in front of that beat-up car of his, smiling broadly, with that firm, rib-crunching goodbye hug of his and his slightly clammy, work-roughened hands squeezing my upper arms as he disentangled.
Joey could make anything mechanical work, especially in regards to computers. He was like MacGyver in that way. It just took a small toll on his hands.
Either way, with solid info now I can find out if I can go.
We'll see.
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| imjustemm |
| 2008-05-04 01:56 |
| its very late. very, very late, but i have alot on my mind. |
| Public |
| My home. |
 touched |
| New Love - Two Hours Traffic |
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i was talking to a friend of mine today. we were discussing his relationship with his girlfriend. he told me that he was yet to kiss his girlfriend, a month into their relationship. but then he taught me what love really is, by saying this, " i could go all summer hanging with her, and not even make out once and i wouldn't even care, just hanging out with her and being around her is wicked.".
it was one of the sweetest things i've ever heard, and it reminded me of what i want. i want to be able to sit in a room with someone listening to music. the slow songs. not even having to touch, talk, or even look at each other. just knowing that the other person is there. thats what i want. having someone to love me enough to the point where nothing has to be said, seeing that silence is beautiful in a way.
he then continued to say that they're taking it slow because she wants to. i really admire that. their relationship is based on something true, not just physical attraction. like most of my relationships have. i need to find someone who i can connect with on a whole other level. someone who i can listen to the slow songs with.
i'm not going to look for love anymore. i'm going to let it come to me. from what i've heard, its full of surprises.
for now i'll start looking for the right slow song just in case.
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| returntoromance |
| 2008-05-02 16:28 |
| 1168 miles completed, 122 miles left |
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I am not sure whether it is because I am exhausted or the niggling tendon problem that reminds me now and then it is still there or simply the few miles I have left, but it is finally starting to hit me exactly what I have achieved since January. Fourteen months of detailed planning have paid off and I can almost say “I’ve done it” despite the odd problem here and there.
Although each days walking gets harder I still manage in excess of 10 miles each day, I feel the effects more and have had to reintroduce the rest days. In fact, I decided to use only one of the days off in Pisa and save the other one for Florence – (sorry Zebedee for the magic roundabout fans among you). Despite the occasional wet day the sun is shining more and more and humidity levels apart, it is a joy to be in the fresh air.
Somebody e mailed me to say that they enjoyed reading the diaries and perhaps my next job should be as a travel correspondent - so now its time for the touristy bit!!
Pisa and Florence are steeped in history and each has their landmarks to visit. Both are famous for their bell tower (leaning in Pisa but not in Florence), Duomo and Battistero or Baptistery (dedicated to John the Baptist) not to mention the various museums. Both lie on the River Arno and walks along the river in either city can be very enjoyable
In Pisa, you pay 15 Euros to climb the tower; 5 Euro’s to visit the Battistero and 2 Euros to visit the Duomo, despite the crowds you can move around with relative ease either in a formal group or as individuals. You will also have to pay to visit the various museums and the only disappointment is that in many you cannot use cameras.
You have to climb 300 steps in the leaning tower and there are several warning signs for those who have heart conditions or do not like heights. It was hilarious watching people standing around the base of the tower with one arm in the air whilst taking the obligatory photographs. It isn’t a secret sign but the way of demonstrating the extent to which the tower leans when compared to the vertical.
The Duomo is spectacular with several pieces of art on display and the fresco above the main altar is impressive to say the least. The chapel in the south transept, formerly known as the Coronation of the Virgin is certainly worth stopping to see. The view from the top of the Battistero is worth the climb up the several steps but is not for the faint hearted. Even a walk
Head off the tourist path in Pisa and you will find other hidden treasures such as the botanical gardens. This is a real haven of peace and quiet despite being less than 200 metres from the tower etc where you can easily spend over an hour just wandering around. From early May it will cost a couple of Euros to get in but it is worth it, especially as more plants come into flower. Other sites of interest are three universities, one for those with ordinary mortals, those considered superior and finally one for geniuses. The striking thing is that the university building for the “superiors” is very grand whereas the university building for the “geniuses” is very plain and unimposing, meaning you have to keep looking to make sure it is the right building.
Until the late 1960’s early 70’s the church of Santa Maria della Spine was underground beside the river Arno. Following severe flooding a project began to excavate the church and locate it in its present position directly above its original location. I have to admit that it looks very out of place which is perhaps why it attracts so many people. The name for the church comes from the fact that it once preserved a thorn from the crown of thorns that Jesus had placed on his head prior to the crucifixion.
The train journey to Florence costs less than 10 Euros and here you can visit the Duomo and equally famous dome for free and see Vasari and Zuccari’s fresco of the last judgement which covers the interior of the dome and is spectacular. You do have to pay 3 Euros to visit the site below the cathedral but it is worth the money. You have to join another queue to enter the dome although I do not think that there is a charge. To enter the bell tower will cost 6 Euros and again the queues can be very long as can the one for the Battistero. The cathedral museum located just across the road is worth a visit, cost is 6 Euros with a further 4 Euros if you would like an audio hand set with an English translation. You also need to be prepared to leave either your passport or driving licence with the attendant as a deposit for the hand set but in truth you can manage without the handset.
Five minutes from the Duomo in one direction is another famous church, Saint Croce, which is where Michelangelo is buried. Five minutes in another direction are the famous bridge, Ponte Vecchio and the equally famous Uffizi museum. Finally, walk five minutes in yet another direction and you can visit the Medici chapels, which was one of the few landmarks I did manage to get into during my day off. It costs 6 Euros and you cannot use cameras, which is very disappointing because there are many items that would be worthy of photographs. The Medici’s were a famous dynasty in Italy, right up until the death of the last Medici, Anna Maria who died in 1743. One of the chapels contains the tombs of many of them and one room in particular contains the remains of the Medici Princes and in the new sacristy are works by Michelangelo and commissioned by 2 popes (Leo X and Clement VII) to house the remains of their fathers and other members of the Medici family.
Florence gets very crowded because the 3 main sites are situated in the middle of the city around a busy square. Many people come on day trips and this combined with the large number of hotels in Florence, which are almost always full, makes for a crowded city. Be prepared to queue to see the landmarks, at times the queues can be very lengthy so patience is definitely needed.
In fact I would go so far as to say that if you come to Florence for just 1 or 2 days you are likely to be very disappointed as you will not gain entry to many of the major sites due to sheer numbers. I spoke to several people waiting in the queues and some had waited over an hour and in one case nearly 2 hours to get in to two of the landmarks. At times it appeared that the organised groups were trying to outdo each other. I also spoke to some local people who said that at times they can become very frustrated and the city council simply do not listen. My overall view is that Florence cannot cope with its fame, which is a shame because the places I did get to visit were worth it but even the famous British tolerance for queues can be sorely tested here.
Other events of interest included the arrival of football fans for the Rangers v Fiorentina second leg match last night which Rangers won on penalties. On the media front the Italian press have been terrific and two mainstream regional papers IL Tirreno and La Nazione have both covered the walk. One journalist complimented me on the choice of name for the walk saying it was easy to remember and had made it very personal to the cause, something which isn’t always considered.
The first official recognition for the walk since setting off has come from the British Ambassador to the Holy See who has invited me to meet him when I arrive in Rome. Such invitations do not get extended everyday and after such a long trek means a great deal.
Anybody who watched Michael Palin and his “Around the world in 80 days” will remember that he was set challenges to prove that he had actually visited certain places. Well one of my sons did the same to me. These consisted of an authentic Genoa football shirt, Formula one related items from Monaco and an authentic football shirt from Fiorentina. This was completed yesterday and in fact I achieved more because Genoa has 2 football teams, Genoa and Sampdoria and I obtained one from each. In the case of the Fiorentina shirt, I managed to get one specially made for the match with Rangers which has the name of the two clubs involved and the date 01.05.2008 emblazoned on it. Mission accomplished James!!
Finally, you may recall from my last journal that I had to make sure that I obtained a photo of me outside a certain café in Pisa otherwise I was going to be in rouble when I returned to Gosport. Having checked which café it was - I didn’t want to get the wrong one!! I managed to get the waitress to take the photograph with me in front of the café, so I guess that means I can go home to Gosport safely now.
So after having my deferred day off, more walking on Saturday and Sunday morning followed by a half rest day, it is on to Grosseto on Monday for the next stage of the walk.
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cheerful
bitchy![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/newsinfo.gif){kind=small}
disappointed
chipper
